Friday, 19 October 2007

From the Editor's Computer Another municipal election has come and gone. I was pleased to find out that 315 voters turned out to cast their ballots in Alix. A quick glance at the other election results shows that voters did turn out for this election.
Some municipalities are seeing no real change in their leadership, while others have experienced a complete change.

Whether the status quo has been maintained or not in your municipality, our job as voters and taxpayers is not over. Casting our ballots as voters, and getting elected for the candidates, was the easy part.

Now we all need to work together to ensure that our municipalities function at their best for the good of all the people. We need to support our newly elected officials in all their endeavours on our behalf.

The job that our elected officials are taking on is by no means an easy one. Nor is there any glory in it. However, by working together we can all experience pride and satisfaction in a job well done and a municipality well represented.

I would like to congratulate all the candidates who were elected this term and I encourage those who didn’t obtain a seat this time round to consider trying again in another three years.

Also, best wishes and a speedy recovery are extended to Sukhi Dhaliwal of the Alix Motel who is recovering from a motor vehicle accident.

Friday, 5 October 2007

From the Editor's Computer I was recently reading about Kerala in India. This tiny area, with a population of over 31 million, is roughly comparable in size to Vancouver Island and located on the southwestern tip of India. Kerala is almost an anomaly in India as a whole as quality of life indicators (life expentancy, literacy, health care, fertility rates, etc) rank Kerala in with the First World nations such as Canada and Japan. However, its low Gross Domestic Product places it firmly with the rest of the Third World nations.

An election in 1957 resulted in a communist led government which enacted a number of social and land reforms that favoured the labourers and rural tenants such as removing the caste system and giving land to the landless poor. Subsequent governments have continued the trend of social reform creating an equitable society with very little poverty. Fair price shops are within walking distance of each and every home, there is a commitment to education and libraries, health care centres are also within walking distance of every home, self-employment loans are readily available and there is no taxation for the self-employed.

Known as the Kerala Phenomenon - high human development, low economic development - is the area’s greatest paradox. Combining gender equality with grassroots democracy and a government supported social net, Kerala has emerged with a highly sustainable society.

This does not mean that the area is without problems (suicide, unemployment)...but that they have found unique ways to live a quality of life that surpasses what one would expect in a way that has the least impact on the environment and on each other. They did not accept the status quo and were willing to think outside the box.

How would you measure the real quality of your life? What changes need made to increase that quality for you? Think outside the box!